Wrestler Sushil Kumar and five others have been charged with assault and criminal intimidation. The have been booked for allegedly inciting a brawl against rival wrestler Praveen Rana and his supporters at the Indira Gandhi stadium during the Commonwealth Games trials.
However, the double Olympic medallist has dismissed the charges saying that he was ready to face consequences if even one witness comes forward to testify against him.
In an interview to Times of India, Sushil that he had harmed Praveen Rana after the bout as alleged by him, he was ready to face the law of the land.
''Hang me if I am guilty. I didn’t even meet him after the bout as I had gone to change my dress just for two minutes, and later I was inside the wrestling hall. So how could I hit him?” said Sushil.
“By lodging the FIR against me, Parveen is trying to divert my attention to other issues but wrestling... I won’t stoop to his level.
Sushil admitted that he was aware of a scuffle had broken out between some people and Parveen and his brother Naveen. However, he added that he had no role to play and those people were not his supporters.
Sushil also said that he feels some wrestlers were trying to ruin his comeback by injuring him.
“It was everything but wrestling. I could sense that wrestlers were trying to bodily harm me by indulging in rough grappling. I felt they wanted to ruin my comeback.. Parveen bit me and hit me near my eyes.”
The case against Sushil was registered late Friday night on the basis of a written complaint lodged by Rana and his brother Naveen.
“They threatened to kill me if I go to the stadium for training. They asked me to stay away from wrestling and not be seen anywhere near the stadium,” Rana said in his complaint.
